I. Field
The present disclosure relates generally to communication, and more specifically to techniques for transmitting data in a wireless communication network.
II. Background
Wireless communication networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, and so on. These networks may be capable of supporting communication for multiple users by sharing the available network resources. Examples of such networks include wireless local area networks (WLANs), wireless wide area networks (WWANs), and wireless metropolitan area networks (WMANs).
Different services may have different traffic characteristics and hence different transmission requirements for acceptable performance. For example, a voice call may send small amounts of data periodically and may have relatively stringent delay requirements. Satisfactory performance may be achieved for the voice call by allocating a fixed amount of network resources for the voice call. In contrast, a packet data call may send large bursts of data sporadically but may be able to tolerate variable delays. Satisfactory performance may be achieved for the packet data call by providing a sufficient data rate whenever there is data to send.
There is therefore a need in the art for techniques to transmit different types of data such that acceptable performance may be achieved for all data types.